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Suniel Shetty urges UP CM to help get rid of 'Boycott Bollywood' trend

Says it's wrong to label the industry in poor light because of "one rotten apple"
Suniel Shetty urges UP CM to help get rid of 'Boycott Bollywood' trend
Suniel Shetty urges UP CM to help get rid of 'Boycott Bollywood' trend

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS Filmmaker SS Rajamouli's RRR, which is being widely appreciated globally, has bagged yet another international nomination—it has earned a spot on the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) longlist. It has been featured in the Best Film (non-English) category.

The makers took to Instagram to share the news: "Very happy to share that RRR is in the LONGLIST of BAFTA Film Awards. Thank you everyone."

The shortlisted nominations will be announced on January 19, and the award ceremony will be held on February 19. Other films longlisted in the same category include All Quiet on the Western Front, Argentina, 1985, Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Close, Corsage, Decision To Leave, EO, Holy Spider and The Quiet Girl.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Gangubai Kathiawadi, starring Alia Bhatt, failed to make the cut.

Earlier this week, Rajamouli won the Best Director for RRR at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2022. ” The period drama chronicles a pre-Independence story woven around two Indian revolutionaries in the 1920s—Alluri Sitarama Raju and Komaram Bheem, essayed by Ram Charan and Jr NTR. The film also featured Bollywood actors Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn in key roles.

Rajamouli and his team will also be present at the Golden Globe Award ceremony later this month. While the film has been nominated for Best Foreign Film, the song 'Naatu Naatu' has been nominated for Best Original Song. 'Naatu Naatu' has received a Best Song nomination at the Academy Awards too. The track was composed by MM Keeravaani and penned by Kala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj.

Shaunak Sen's critically acclaimed documentary All That Breathes has also made it to the BAFTA longlist. The documentary will advance to the final round of nominations with All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, A Bunch Of Amateurs, Fire of Love, The Ghost of Richard Harris, Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song, Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues, McEnroe, Moonage Daydream and Navalny. Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty on Thursday urged Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to help erase hatred against the Hindi film industry and get rid of the 'Boycott Bollywood' trend on social media.

Adityanath, who was on a two-day Mumbai visit, rounded off his trip by meeting film personalities such as Shetty, Subhash Ghai, Jackie Shroff, Rajkumar Santoshi, Manmohan Shetty and Boney Kapoor.

Though the agenda of the meeting was to discuss shooting and investment prospects in Noida Film City, Shetty took the opportunity to put forward the grievances of the film industry.

"I want to talk about this hashtag that's going on -- 'Boycott Bollywood'. It can stop if you say something about it. We are doing good work," the 61-year-old actor said.

Shetty further requested Adityanath to seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support in clearing the stigma around Bollywood.

"It pains me to see this stigma. Ninety-nine per cent of the people here are good. So, please Yogi ji, take the lead and talk to our prime minister about erasing this stigma," he added.

The film industry has played a major role in connecting India with the world, Shetty said and requested the Uttar Pradesh chief minister to use his influence in stopping the 'Boycott Bollywood' trend.

"We have to join hands and try and get rid of the 'Boycott Bollywood' trend and make people understand that most people in the industry are good. We don't do drugs, we don't harm others.

"I request you to be the person to abolish the stigma. This industry is responsible for connecting India to the world, especially when it comes to music. You're a very big name, sir. If you talk about it, people will listen," the actor said.

The BoycottBollywood hashtag first started trending following actor Sushant Singh Rajput's demise in June 2020 which ignited discussions on the nepotistic nature of the industry and the gate-keeping attitude of top banners.

The hashtag reared its ugly head two years later ahead of the August 11 release of superstar Aamir Khan's movie Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar's Raksha Bandhan.

The other targets have been Anurag Kashyap's directorial Dobaaraa, Vijay Deverakonda-starrer Liger, and Ayan Mukerji's big-budget fantasy adventure Brahmastra: Part One Shiva. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan's upcoming film Pathaan is the latest in the line of fire.

Shetty said it is wrong to label the industry in a poor light because of "one rotten apple".

"Today people think that Bollywood is not a good place. But we have made such good films here. I was a part of such a film too, 'Border', along with others," he added.

The actor said he is grateful for all the love and support showered on him during his early years by people from Uttar Pradesh.

"Today, I am what I am because of the people from Uttar Pradesh. When they would fill theatres, we knew our films would run well all over. If you take the lead, a change can be brought about in what people are thinking," Shetty said. The meeting, held at Taj Colaba, was also attended by Sonu Nigam, Jackky Bhagnani, Rajpal Yadav, Ravi Kishan, Ashish Singh, Tej Kiran, Chandraprakash Dwivedi and Om Raut.

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